Airtel teams up with Blinkit to deliver SIM cards to customers' doorstep in 10 minutes

New Delhi: In a first, Bharti Airtel on Tuesday announced its partnership with quick commerce platform Blinkit for the delivery of SIM cards to its customers within ten minutes. In the initial phase of this launch, the SIM delivery service will be available across 16 major cities, including Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonipat, Ahmedabad, Surat, Chennai, Bhopal, Indore, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Lucknow, Jaipur, Kolkata, and Hyderabad. There are plans to add more cities and towns over a period of time, according to a release. "This collaboration marks a significant milestone enabling, as it does, customers to receive SIM cards at their doorstep in a minimal 10 minutes at a nominal convenience fee of Rs 49," it said.

After the delivery of the SIM card, customers can activate the number using Aadhaar-based KYC authentication, as per stipulated process. Customers will have the option to choose from both postpaid and prepaid plans or trigger a mobile number portability for porting into the Airtel network. The release explained that in order to streamline the process, customers can access the online link and view the activation video for a seamless activation experience. Additionally, for all such activations, Airtel customers have the option to access the help centre through the Airtel Thanks App for any assistance. Post-delivery of the SIM card, it will be mandatory for customers to activate the SIM within a 15-day window to ensure a smooth and hassle-free transition. Commenting on the partnership, Siddharth Sharma, CEO - Connected Homes and Director of Marketing, Bharti Airtel, said; "Simplifying customer lives is central to everything we do at Airtel. Today we are thrilled to partner with Blinkit for 10-minute SIM card delivery to customers' homes across 16 cities and in due course of time we plan to expand this partnership to additional cities." Albinder Dhindsa, Founder and CEO of Blinkit, said that to save customers time and hassle, Blinkit has collaborated with Airtel to deliver SIM cards directly to customers in select cities, with delivery in just 10 minutes. "Blinkit takes care of the delivery, while Airtel makes it easy for customers to complete self-KYC, activate their SIM, and choose between prepaid or postpaid plans. Customers can also opt for number portability, all at their convenience," he said.